I
am pretty good at keeping
my personal information
private, so I tend not to
think of my banking
app as part of my
online
presence.
Still,
it
somehow
found a way to fit into
how I present myself
online. Namely, when
I log in to my banking
app, it prompts me
with a phrase and
image that I can
confirm are indeed
associated
with
my account — an
account I made at age 16 and
have not altered since.
The image and phrase I
chose, while holding my first
paycheck and full of youthful
ignorance,
have
shown
themselves over time to be
essentially gross lies. In the
interest of protecting my bank
account, I’ll give only a rough
explanation: the image is like
a gold medal and the phrase is
along the lines of “I am a huge
success.”
Every time I log in now, I
laugh a little for a few reasons:
A) I have a warped sense
of humor that allows me to
laugh at literally anything,
B) laughing before I see my
account balance is a good
primer for being more positive
than I should in the face of
my meager sums and C) my
16-year-old
self
had
huge
aspirations for what this new
bank account meant for me
and my future. The reality is
perhaps less envious than what
I might’ve hoped.
I wish I could go back in
time to hug my high-school
self and apologize, but also
to thank her for believing in
us so strongly (and perhaps
irrationally). That kid may
have been an idiot, but she did
have chutzpah.
In a larger sense, the weird
mismatch between the login
phrase and my account balance
demonstrates to me that who
we are online is often not
reflective of our reality. Online
we are given the opportunity
to reinvent ourselves. We are
much more prone to sharing
our successes and good days
online than posting pictures of
ourselves splattered with soup
after we’ve tripped down some
stairs. (In general. Just as an
example. That hasn’t happened
to me.)
In a way, I can
guarantee that we’ve
all been dishonest
online (some of us
more than others).
I don’t necessarily
mean claiming on
Facebook
that
“I
have
a
girlfriend
in Canada who you
won’t
meet
but
absolutely
exists”
so much as giving
off a vibe of “I
drink champagne daily” on
Instagram.
The lying we do through
self-branding
and
omission
online isn’t a negative thing
necessarily, or even completely
avoidable.
It’s
simply
not
possible to accurately represent
who we are in all our wonderful
complexities on social media.
Furthermore,
we
are
prone to censoring ourselves
when faced with a platform’s
shortcomings and unspoken
rules, such as limiting our
cursing if family is going to
see a post or censoring our
conspiracy theories in case a
future employer goes snooping
(despite the powerful impulse
to
convince
everyone
that
Jupiter isn’t real; we’ve all
been there).
In fact, these positive lies
can be seen as aspirational;
these posts may not represent
our true selves, but it’s how we
might like to be seen or how
we wish we lived and felt all
the time. I may post concert
videos and flattering selfies
on Instagram, but that’s not
my day-to-day life. My online
presence is more of a highlight
reel, leaving out the less than
stellar
moments,
like
last
week when I accidentally fell
asleep on top of a fun size Mr.
Goodbar and woke up with
melted chocolate everywhere.
There are legitimate reasons
I don’t share everything, from
a desire for privacy to not
feeling the need to document
the mundanity of my everyday
life. More often, though, it
comes down to wanting a
positive response from others.
I can rephrase my thoughts
to come across as particularly
eloquent or impactful, and I
can cherry pick the moments
that I share, making public
only as much as I want others
to see. Our online revisions can
be powerful things that let us
display a filtered version of the
best parts of ourselves.
That being said, dishonesty
is dishonesty, and it can have
side effects on our happiness
and self-worth. Studies show
that while seeing positive posts
online can influence us to
think positively as well, seeing
nothing but positive posts from
others can lead us to negatively
compare ourselves and our
lives to the stories that others
are sharing about themselves
and their own lives.
Knowing this, I’d like to
challenge all of us, myself
included, to live more honestly
by documenting our failures.
While I might happily post
on Facebook about a new
job, I can also push myself to
acknowledge the handfuls of
interviews that didn’t pan out
before it. Or while I might post
a picture on Instagram with
my crew on a night out, I can
also share a video of myself
pawing through my clothes
pile (closets are for quitters) to
find something clean to wear
and then crying over how bad
I am at makeup. Now That’s
What I Call Honesty!
Maybe
by
not
only
documenting my aspirational,
ideal
self,
but
also
my
awkward,
not-yet-successful
self, I can create a digital
archive of honest self-growth
over the years, as well as a
more realistic representation
of myself online. If others are
going to compare themselves
to me, they might as well be
doing it with something closer
to the real thing.
I might even make others
feel better about their lives in
comparison when they see a
photo of me with soup spilled
all over my jeans! (Again, just
an example. Not a thing I’ve
done recently.) Perhaps in
trying this small extra layer
of online honesty, I’ll one day
merit that gold medal that my
16-year-old self felt I deserved.
Maybe I’ll even earn the
phrase, “I am a huge success.”
Deer overpopulation poses
unique threats to Ann Arbor’s
residents
and
environment.
Many
city
residents
have
incurred substantial property
damage, experienced aggression
from deer and reported vehicle
near-misses and collisions from
rapid deer overpopulation. By
removing the deer’s natural
predators,
like
wolves
and
bears,
deer
populations
go
unchecked, wreaking havoc on
the city’s natural biodiversity.
Overpopulation
of
deer
poses threats to Ann Arbor’s
ecosystem, because they prey
on native plants, eliminating
habitats and food sources for
other animals.
New efforts for this year
are more conscious of citizens’
ethical concerns about last year’s
deer removal tactics. What’s
more, the city has instituted
safer, more humane methods
of curbing Ann Arbor’s deer
population. This year’s cull will
include non-lethal sterilization,
a
noteworthy
attempt
to
compromise with constituents’
concerns.
Research
has
shown ovarectomies — surgical
procedures that remove the
ovaries completely — to be the
most effective, least invasive and
quickest method for destroying
a deer population’s reproductive
capabilities. Furthermore, the
city will track migration patterns
and survival rates of the deer
sterilized in this cull so more
ethical culling methods may be
implemented in the future.
Furthermore,
Ann
Arbor
City Council addressed issues of
public safety in considering the
parameters of this year’s cull.
The upcoming cull will take
place in fewer, more distinct
places and away from areas of
traffic like children’s routes to
school, which was a concern for
some constituents last year.
Additionally, parts of this
year’s cull will be conducted on
University property, a necessity
given
the
way
University
property is integrated into the
framework of the city. Without
access to certain campus areas,
the cull would not be as effective.
The University is also being
cautious in opening its land in
order to protect the student
body; the cull on North Campus,
for example, will take place over
Spring Break when there is less
student traffic.
The University will contribute
15 percent of the total cost of
the cull, proportional to the
area of property the University
owns in Wards 1 and 2. The
total expenses will not exceed
$25,000. While it may be argued
these funds should be used
for services that help students
more directly, the University’s
involvement
in
the
culling
measures can help prevent deer
overpopulation from becoming a
problem in neighborhoods where
students live, such as South
Campus. In 2015, students made
up about 37 percent of the city’s
population.
Considering
the
University’s contribution to the
city’s population, this 15 percent
“service
fee”
is
negligible,
especially as the University is
exempt from paying property
taxes.
The deer cull will greatly
benefit the entire Ann Arbor
community,
including
the
University
community,
by
reducing
additional
damage
to local ecology and personal
property.
While
killing
and
sterilizing deer is certainly not
ideal, it is a necessary measure
of population control that has
been carefully planned out to
ensure the safety of our residents
and the efficacy and ethics of
maintaining our environment.
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Friday, January 20, 2017
RNA can revolutionize medicine
CENTER FOR RNA BIOMEDICINE | OP-ED
A
half-century
ago,
James
Watson
and
Francis Crick became
renowned
for
revealing
the double helix structure
of
DNA,
the
molecule
in
each
cell
that
provides
the “blueprint” for human
beings.
This
breakthrough
laid
the
foundation
for
our understanding of how
information is transferred in
biology.
Arguably one of the most
profound scientific discoveries
of the 20th century — solving
the DNA structure — required
the collaboration of scientists
from
the
physical
and
biological sciences.
Now,
a
collaboration
at
the University of Michigan
has set out to bring insights
from the molecular realm of
RNA to bedside medicine.
Rapidly
emerging
insights
into how RNA, DNA’s close
chemical cousin, helps modify,
safeguard
and
translate
genetic information in each
of us is offering the promise
of a personalized “precision
medicine.”
Most
current
medical
treatments
are
one-size-
fits-all, an approach that is
successful for some patients
but
not
others.
Precision
medicine is a modern approach
to
disease
prevention
and
treatment
that
takes
into
account individuality, which is
shaped by genetic inheritance,
environment
and
lifestyle.
While
DNA
provides
the
genetic code for a human life, it
is RNA that determines which
parts of the code are used and
when. Over the lifespan of a
human being, the parts of the
DNA blueprint that are read
out by RNA constantly change,
leading to aging and disease.
Current discoveries in RNA
biomedicine are paving the
way for diagnostics that can
detect problems early and
therapies that fix problems
at their roots, rather than
simply
treating
symptoms.
The premise of RNA-focused
precision medicine is that
human
diseases,
such
as
cancer and Alzheimer’s, could
be cured with less invasive,
more
targeted
treatments
with minimized side effects,
tailored to each of us based on
our RNA makeup.
In
genetic
diseases,
segments
of
the
human
genome are reorganized in
ways that can derail normal
function. A notable example
of RNA in precision medicine
is the recently FDA-approved
treatment for spinal muscular
atrophy,
a
neuromuscular
disease that is the leading
genetic cause of death in
infants.
A
research
group
led by Prof. Adrian Krainer
at the Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory in New York —
incidentally,
where
Watson
went on to serve as director
and president — collaborated
to study RNA splicing defects,
or
errors
in
editing
the
RNA sequences. The team
was
able
to
successfully
correct a splicing defect that
caused SMA by using the
revolutionary
therapeutic
approach of injection of a
stretch of modified RNA that
corrected the defect, allowing
the cells to make a protein
necessary to keeping muscle
nerve cells functioning. This
groundbreaking therapy can
save lives.
In the spirit of collaboration
across
the
physical
and
biological sciences, University
President Mark Schlissel has
urged University researchers
to
embrace
the
potential
of
precision
medicine,
as
the University’s faculty are
leaders in this emerging field.
One
group
addressing
the
molecular aspects of precision
medicine is the members of the
University’s Center for RNA
Biomedicine. The CRB started
in spring 2016, promoting and
developing
interdisciplinary
collaborations
across
the
University
by
bringing
researchers
together
for
bi-weekly
seminars
showcasing RNA studies from
the physical to the clinical
sciences, as well as for an
annual
symposium
hosting
RNA experts from around the
world. This year, the Center
is also funding four pilot
grants, totaling $300,000, to
forge new teams among UM
researchers.
On March 31, 2017, the CRB
will host its second annual
symposium, “RNA in Precision
Medicine,” which will feature
speakers in the fields of RNA
diagnostics and therapeutics.
All seminars and symposia are
free and open to the University
community. For more details
on the CRB and how to join
these
collaborative
efforts,
visit the CRB’s website. Who
knows? You may be the next
Watson or Crick and will make
a lasting impact in precision
medicine by discovering and
targeting the RNA underlying
human disease.
REBECCA LERNER
Managing Editor
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.
EMMA KINERY
Editor in Chief
ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY
and REBECCA TARNOPOL
Editorial Page Editors
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
Carolyn Ayaub
Megan Burns
Samantha Goldstein
Caitlin Heenan
Jeremy Kaplan
Max Lubell
Alexis Megdanoff
Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy
Jason Rowland
Ali Safawi
Kevin Sweitzer
Rebecca Tarnopol
Ashley Tjhung
Stephanie Trierweiler
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Getting real online
SARAH LEESON | COLUMN
Sarah Leeson can be reached at
sleeson@umich.edu.
SARAH
LEESON
FROM THE DAILY
Deer cull is a necessary cost
L
ast November, the University of Michigan announced it would
participate in Ann Arbor’s deer cull efforts, a program first
approved by Ann Arbor City Council by an 8-1 vote in August
2015. From Jan. 30 to Feb. 13, the city of Ann Arbor will begin the
second iteration of the program, which will include a non-lethal method
of sterilization in addition to the lethal methods used in last year’s cull
to help control the city’s growing deer population. The University has
authorized the cull to take place at certain campus locations, such as
Nichols Arboretum and possibly on North Campus, and will contribute
15 percent of the total cost of the cull. Though controversial, the newest
plan for the deer cull is a necessary and efficient response to deer
overpopulation. The Michigan Daily’s Editorial Board supports both
the deer cull and the University’s land and fiscal contributions to it.
The deer cull will
greatly benefit
the entire Ann
Arbor community,
including the
University
community.
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